Carbon nanotubes (CNT) are very small carbon tubes which conduct an electrical current when a voltage is applied wherein their conductivity significantly exceeds a conductivity of copper. When current passes through the CNT are energetically excited and emit thermal radiation in a far infrared range with an energetic efficiency of over 95% when falling back to their original condition. CNT are thus particularly suited for heating rooms since humans react quite well to this type of heat radiation.
DE 20 2010 009 208 U1 discloses a room of the general type recited supra with a CNT based heating element configured as a paintable wall paper.
In order to produce a CNT based heating element DE20 2011 001 126 U1 proposes to provide the carbon nanotubes in an emulsion of an evaporating solvent with a curing plastic material directly onto an accordingly prepared wall of the room as a flat carrier and to optionally provide the carbon nanotubes on the room side with a textile reinforcement to protect them against abrasion.
CNT based heating elements with a separate flat carrier which includes carbon nanotubes and a plurality of contacts wherein the carbon nanotubes are excitable to provide infrared emissions by applying an electric voltage to the contacts are furthermore known from DE 10 2009 008 967 B4, DE 10 2009 034 306 A1, DE 20 2006 007 228 U1, DE 20 2007 014 328 U1, DE 20 2005 014 678 U1, DE 20 2008 007 815 U1, DE 20 2009 000 136 U1 and WO 2007/089118 A1. The carriers of these CNT based heating elements are rigid so that the heating elements can be mounted as separate components in front of a wall of a building.